1. Chapter One: Introduction & Installation

1.1 Overview

Fologram is one of the pioneering AR application for Rhino3D and Grasshopper. And I am happy to prepare for this workshop and share my experience with you. Through this chapter you can learn how to download Fologram, connect your smartphone with Rhino3d. You should download Fologram both on your PC and Smartphone. Supportive files are given before the workshop starts.

1.2 Definitions & Limitations & Possibilities

VR, AR, MR explained. Source: Filmora Wondershare

1.2.1 Definitions

Before talking about Fologram. Let’s talk about what are the differences between VR, AR, and MR. The definitions of them can be found in the image. The most common VR tools are Oculus series from Facebook and Valve Index from Valve. The world you will experience through these VR tools is the simulated world from the data. On the other hand, the most common example of AR project is Pokemon GO. And telling you the truth, Fologram is basically an AR application. You will experience both real-world and simulated world. But, in this case, you can only overlap the simulated world on the real world, not considering the geometry of the real world. Lastly, Mixed world is the world considering the geometry of the real world and superimpose the simulated world in the real world. MR became possible through the combined support of depth sensors, Lidars, image processing, and fast calculation.

1.2.2 Limitations

As you can see, the limitations and possibilities are critically affected by the tools you use. In this workshop, we will use smartphone. So, you will need a holder to free your both hands if you are trying to do AR fabrication project with smartphone. The other limitation is the screen size. If you use a Microsoft HoloLens, this will free your hand and also partially solve the limitation of screen size.

1.2.3 Possibilities

The biggest advantage of the Fologram is the use of Grasshopper. Even though, there is a limitation of the tool itself, the projects you can suggest are depending on your idea and the grsshopper skills that you have. Though this workshop, I will demonstrate the process of choosing the grasshopper parameters and explain why I chose these specific parameters and the brainstorming method and searching methods that I used.

1.3 Installation

1.3.1 Installation for Rhino3D

Before you install Fologram, you definitely have to install Rhino3D in advance. And here is the link of installing Rhino3D.
Rhino3D download -> https://www.rhino3d.com/download/

After that you can go to the Fologram website link, or search “Fologram” at the Food for Rhino website. And download Fologram for Rhino3D. Please exit out of Rhino3D before you download Fologram.

Fologram download -> https://fologram.com/download

download through Food for Rhino -> https://www.food4rhino.com/en/app/fologram

When you finish downloading, please run Rhino3D. You will see this window pops up.

If not, go to the Rhino Options -> Toolbars -> Fologram.IO.Rhino3d.Win -> put checkmark on Fologram.

You will see the Fologram toolbar and click “Fologram”.

Or you can simply type in “Fologram” at the command prompt.

1.3.2 Changing Unit

After the installation, it is critical to change the unit of the Rhino3D into ”Millimeters”. And restart the program.

1.3.3 Installation for Android

You can download Fologram application from Google play. And your android OS should be 7.0 and up. Or if you use a tablet, it should support ARCore (for Android devices).

1.3.4 Installation for iOS

You can download Fologram application from App Store. And your iOS version should be 11.0 or later. Or if you use a tablet, it should support ARKit (for iOS devices).

1.4 Connecting Rhino3D and Smartphone.

Step 1

Your PC and Smartphone should use the same Wi-Fi.

Step 2

Go to the Fologram toolbar and click “Fologram”, or type in “Fologram” at the command prompt of Rhino3D.

Step 3

Click “Connect to Device”. After that, you will see a QR code window pops up.

Step 4

Turn on the Fologram application on your phone. You will see an instruction asking you to scan a QR Code. Scan QR Code popped up during “Step 3”

Step 5

Move your smartphone around so that the application can scan the surroundings and define the plane.

Then tap on the grid to define the base coordinate

Step 6

The base coordinate of the application is the same as the (0,0,0) coordinate of the Rhino3D.

If you put an object on the Rhino3D you can see the object from the smartphone in real-time.

Step 7(Optional)

You can also define the base coordinate using QR Code.

Click “Create QR” from the Fologram Toolbar.

Define x,y axis and enter the command.

Step 8(Optional)

A QR Code will pop up.

Tap “SNAP” from the smartphone and scan the QR Code. You can find the base point is changed